Asiana drops plans to sue KTVU over bogus pilot names

The remains of the Asiana Airlines Boeing 777 are moved to a remote parking area at the San Francisco International Airport in San Francisco, Calif., on Friday, July 12, 2013. (Dan Honda/Bay Area News Group)
(
Dan Honda
)

Asiana Airlines no longer intends to sue television station KTVU for reporting bogus, racially insensitive names of the Asiana pilots involved in the July 6 crash of a Boeing 777 at San Francisco International Airport. But the airline still isn't happy.

The KTVU story, Asiana said Wednesday, "profoundly disparaged Asiana, its employees and all Asians. Asiana deplores the hateful words of the broadcast. Asiana Airlines, however, has decided not to pursue legal action as a result of a public apology by KTVU for the report in question and its determination to keep all of its resources dedicated to caring for the passengers and family members of Asiana Flight 214 and supporting the investigation into the cause of the accident."

KTVU's news director did not respond to email and telephone requests for comment from this newspaper. The station has apologized for the report and a video of the apology remained on the station's website Wednesday.

The National Transportation Safety Board also has apologized and said that a summer intern originally had confirmed the names.